It’s 2019: What Can You Buy for $0.89?

It’s 2019: What Can You Buy for $0.89?

Image Source: Mykyta Dolmatov/iStock

The answer is: FAME AND FORTUNE. No, really. According to VICE, there is a vending machine popping up in Russian cities, such as Moscow, that sells you fake Instagram likes and followers for around a buck. Yup, 100 fake Instagram likes will cost you 89 cents, and 100 fake followers will cost just double that. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy fake Instagram fame!

This Instagram vending machine comes at a time when, BoF says, “Instagram fraud is a billion-dollar problem.” This year, marketers spent $8.5 billion on influencers, which is expected to keep rising. Yet, customer confidence and brand authenticity is at risk when partnering with influencers as skepticism grows in light of ongoing scandals.

So, is the influencer economy crashing? Depends whom you ask. On the other side of the spectrum, you have Kevin Roose of the New York Times saying influencers won’t just dominate the internet, but society as whole. He cites the country of Brazil, where social media influencers have won government seats in elections.

So, the golden age of influence is either about to combust or only just beginning – TBD!